


The song dances for you

by Redrocketeer



Series: After sunset [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: And schmoop, Angst, Blind Ignis, Canon Disabled Character, Comfort Sex, Dirty Talk, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Engaged Gladnis, Gladnis, Go their own ways my arse, Lads working together, M/M, Post!Game setting, Spoilers, because why not, sick!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-26 20:32:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10794249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Redrocketeer/pseuds/Redrocketeer
Summary: When Ignis's simple cold muffles his hearing a horrible dread fills him.  Gladio, desperate to help, stumbles on a solution.





	The song dances for you

It had been six months since the darkness fell, or so Gladio had told him. Ignis had to rely on words to tell him. It was true he never felt that delicious heat but that alone hadn’t been clue enough.

One of the strangest things had been the passing of time. Ignis had always had a fine internal clock, rarely late for anything even on days where his watch had stopped halfway through his his alarm never sounded. Since losing his sight, though, he had lost whatever connection he’d had to the passage of time. His friends never lost patience at his questions but he had to ask and he _hated_ that. Curiosity was one thing, and it was fine, but the kinds of questions that came out of _weakness_ slowly filled him up with shame.

Gladio and Prompto assured him he was doing well, very well, at adjusting but Ignis only noticed that his independence was gone and focused his energy on earning it back. As before he didn’t rest, teaching his fingers to read and his hears to get as close to seeing as they could. He was a little relieved at how well they rose to the challenge, how sensitive his skin had become at feeling others nearby, how far he could now hear another approach, their breath.

He didn’t talk about how sex with Gladio had changed. It felt incredible but he had to fight not to feel a wall between them. He imagined Gladio’s eyes as they used to light up but if they still looked that way he didn’t know. His hands told him a little, but not that. Gladio always gave him the time he needed to explore and he was grateful but he missed taking those unconscious cues for granted.

It didn’t matter that it was hard, though, that it wasn’t the same. Ignis fought. The world still needed him and he still needed the world. When he wanted to rail and rage he reminded himself that he could, that he would, move freely again. 

He liked standing at the kitchen bench. It pressed against his hips lightly, solid and sure. It was forgiving when he missed his target and didn’t sneer when he was slow. The knife was sharp enough to require little pressure. It was agile. Ignis adjusted his strokes sometimes over and over until he passed through empty air and he knew he’d reached the end of the potato. He felt for the pieces, turned them all face down, so he could cut them again. It was slow work but it felt right.

As he worked he started to notice a thick feeling in his ears and a scratch in his throat. At first he ignored it but swallowing made him ache. It took too much effort to get even water down. He knew what that meant. A cold. A minor condition punctuated by discomfort but of no real concern. Perhaps a little more awkward in that it gave him something else to keep track of but, so long as he could fine something to tend his nose with, he would be fine.

He scraped the potato into a bowl and started on the carrots.

***  
“Looks good,” Gladio said over his shoulder.  
“I’ll take your word,” Ignis said dryly in a voice that wasn’t quite his. He convinced himself he could hear Gladio’s frown. It was certainly apparent in his voice.  
“You don’t sound so good,” he said.  
“It’s nothing,” Ignis countered.  
“You’d say that if your leg was hanging off though,” Gladio parried back and Ignis found he couldn’t really argue that.

Ignis leaned into his fiance’s form, stronger than ever from its more intense recent employment. Gladio was working as a hunter, in the immediate aftermath of the darkness falling. There was really no question of his taking that direction. Ignis knew, too, that Gladio was only taking work within a 2 hour drive of Lestallum and he knew why. He knew he should feel guilty but he only felt grateful. The truth was he might be working towards independence but he hadn’t achieved it yet and no amount of pride was going to bring that reality closer. He was hungry to re-enter the fight but he was no used to Noctis if he died before his king returned. He would have to bide his time.

“You’re warm,” Gladio said, hand on Ignis’ forehead.  
“It’s just a cold,” Ignis said. “It’s hardly going to carry me off.”  
They both knew he wasn’t in danger but Gladio had always had a protective streak. He huffed and stepped closer, closing his arms around Ignis. “I can finish this. You should rest,” he said. Ignis was prepared for the suggestion but he held firm.

“I am almost done but, if you’d be so kind, I could use some tissues.” Certainly giving Gladio something helpful to do kept him from hovering and fussing and, if he came back with several kinds of cough medicine, well, that only showed Ignis what he already knew. Gladio loved him.

***  
Prompto didn’t live with them but he lived nearby, his own work on the survey team, and as a hunter in his right, keeping him busy. Ingis knew it was essential they were all busy, perhaps Prompto most of all. The young man had a permanent invitation to their apartment and Ignis did not mind that he often took advantage. It was reassuring to be reminded he was safe each time. He rarely went anywhere quietly so Ignis was surprised to hear his friend standing before him, clearing his throat loudly.

“Hey, you ok Iggy? No one came to the door so I let himself in. You seemed like you were off in a world of your own.”  
Ignis frowned. He didn’t think he was _that_ focused on his work but how else had he missed Prompto? He was sure the pressure building deep in his ear canals was only the typical unpleasantness associated with a light cold.  
He was certain.

“I was preparing supper. Do you wish to stay?” It wasn’t at all unusual for Prompto to appear close to meal times and Ignis had long since stopped thinking anything of it.  
“Whoa dude, you sound awful,” Prompto said emphatically.  
“Thank you,” Ignis said primly. “You should have knocked,” he added.  
“I _did_ knock,” he insisted.  
“Oh. Right,” Ignis said. “Since you seem to have time could you please light the cooker?”  
“You got it,” Prompto said. He never tired of helping anyone who asked but Ignis understood that need. Calling on Prompto helped them both.

It was well after seven when they sat down to eat. It took Ignis a long time to put a meal together and he couldn’t be sure not to burn things when alone. Prompto had informed him that his roast needed turning though Ignis missed the frown on his friend’s face as he’d had to repeat himself.

He’d excused himself as soon as he’d finished eating, leaving Prompto and Gladio to clear away.  
“That’s a lot of cough syrup,” Prompto said as he glanced over at the bench.  
“Wasn’t sure what sort of cough he’d get so… wanted to cover all bases,” Gladio said in his most reasonable tone.  
“That’s kinda adorable,” Prompto teased gently.  
“If you tell anyone I’m gonna shave your head in your sleep.”  
“Dude, everyone knows you got it bad. The wedding invites were kind of a clue.”  
“I don’t have it bad. I got it good. Real good.” Gladio grinned, proud of himself.  
“Someone needs to tell Iggy he bagged a poet. Of course, they’ll need to speak up.”

Gladio frowned slightly. “Why? That man could hear an ant fart in a thunderstorm.”  
“Not today. He didn’t hear me knock and I had to tell him his roast was ready to turn twice. Might be the cold but… you should check on him. I got this.” He gestured to the small pile of washing up.

A cold feeling shivered down Gladio’s back. “Thanks, Prompto. Appreciate it.” Prompto noticed that Gladio didn’t sound himself either as he disappeared into the bedroom he shared with Ignis.

***

“Babe?” he said softly. “You in here?” It was a test. That tone always elicited a response of Ignis was anywhere in their small suite. No answer came but their bathroom light was very clearly on.  
“Iggy? You feelin’ okay?”

The bathroom door was ajar which was their code to let the other know they could interrupt. Had it been closed Gladio would have been sorely tempted anyway. He pushed open the door to see Ignis sitting on the edge of the bathtub, breathing hard.

“Iggy,” Gladio said, dropping to his knees beside his fiance. “What’s going on?”  
Gladio expect fatigue and discomfort. He did not expect fear, contorting Ignis’ features, skating too close to terror and making Ignis jump. A large, reassuring, hand found his cheek. Gladio spoke clear and stayed close. “Baby, is it your ears?”

Ignis hand lifted to rub at his neck just under his ear, trying to clear away the blockage but it wasn’t doing anything. “I can’t… I can’t release this. They’re full of _something_.” He kept up his pawing, his voice straining.  
“Iggy, come here. That won’t help. You just need to give it a little time. It’ll pass. You’ve had colds before. You know how it works.”

Gladio knew it was different this time. He knew hearing was the essential sense that Ignis had left. He couldn’t say that, situations reversed, he wouldn’t have been in a worse state.  
“Prompto… came up behind me and I didn’t know. What if it had been-”  
“No one else has a key and, if they tried anything on you, heavens help them,” Gladio said confidently. He made sure to keep his lips by Ignis’ ear so his fiance didn’t miss a word.

Gladio knew Ignis fear didn’t really come from being attacked. “Leave your neck be,” he said gently. “I’m gonna get you something for the pain then we’re gonna have some time together, okay?”  
“Gladio… I _can’t_...”  
Gladio took Ignis hands in his a squeezed them. “You won’t. I promise.”

He moved quickly, grabbing a couple of tablets and some water. Prompto was messing with his phone on the sofa but he looked up when he saw Gladio. “Is he okay?”  
“He will be… look Prompto, we need a little time tonight, if that’s alright.”  
“Sure it is!” Prompto got immediately to his feet. “I put the leftovers in the fridge. Take cake, alright? I hope he feels better real soon.”

Gladio didn’t like sending Prompto away but it was for the best. “You’re welcome to come back for dinner tomorrow, unless you’re worried about getting Iggy’s cold.”  
“Nah, I don’t mind. I think I could pull off a red nose.”  
Gladio gave Prompto’s shoulder a brief squeeze. “Thanks, Prompto. You’re a good friend.”  
“The best,” Prompto said, his smile full of meaning. Gladio closed the door softly behind him and went back to Ignis.

***

“Here you go, Iggy. Get these into you.”  
Ignis took the pills without protest, finishing off the water. Gladio put the glass aside and took a warm hand. “Come to bed?” he invited.  
“Yes,” Ignis said. Gladio kept a hold of his hand, leading him through a space they both knew well.  
“- with me?”  
“What?” Ignis asked tensely.  
Gladio moved closer. “Will you lay with me, babe?”  
“Yes.”  
“-doing great, Iggy. You really are.”  
“Yes.”  
“Let’s dress for bed.”

Gladio let Ignis go to sort himself out, to wear as much or little as he found comfortable. Gladio himself stripped down to his shorts, which was the most he ever wore to bed.  
When he turned back Ignis was dressed similarly, his clothes folded neatly on his chair.

Gladio closed the distance between them, giving Ignis a moment to register he was there before closing his arms around him. “I love you,” he said, louder than he usually would. “So much, Iggy.”  
“Don’t... “  
“Don’t what, Ig?”  
“You sound like you’re… getting it out while you can. Just… don’t. Please.”

Despite all they’d been through Gladio couldn’t recall having seen his lover so tense. His body was almost rigid, surprising he could move. He knew Ignis was getting lost in that big head of his and he couldn’t just leave it to happen. He put aside any fear of catching anything and pressed a kiss to Ignis’ lips. He kept it short to allow Ignis to breath, just enough to let him know he was past playing nurse. The kissing continued all over Ignis’ face, down his neck and back up, not going too far yet, his aim to help Ignis relax.

“Baby, you taste so good,” he purred into Ignis ear. “Delicious.” His hands stroked gently, using that sensitivity in Ignis’ skin to reassure that he was close.  
The soft sigh he got in return was beyond reassuring. His fingers skated up and down Ignis’ back, over his waist, to relax more than to excite. If Iggy was afraid of his senses letting him down Gladio would rely on the power of the ones he had left.

As he snuggled and touched Ignis and idea struck him. He excused himself a moment, suggesting Ignis lay on the bed, face down. There was no protest now, only trust, a little weariness. 

“I got you a little music, Iggy,” Gladio said warmly, close to Iggy’s ear. Kissing him there a moment later he set the headphones over his lover’s ears. The music he provided was smooth and reassuring, words of affection or gentle descriptions of beautiful things. The steady sound meant Ignis didn’t have to strain to catch sounds that faded in and out. Then the room filled with the scent of coconut and peppermint as Gladio spilled massage oil into his palm. He rubbed his hands together to warm it before placing his hands at the base of Ignis’ spine and stroking up, feeling the bones and plains he knew better than his own.

He wasn’t at all sure he was doing the right thing, neither of them had dealt with that particular problem before. Would the music only make Ignis feel more isolated now that a loss of hearing was playing on his mind? Was no contact better? But his lover was relaxing so, maybe, Gladio reasoned he was on the right path.

Ignis turned his head to a 45 degree angle and breathed into his arm as Gladio stroked tenderly over his back. The tension started to release a little as Gladio’s fingers worked all the way up Ignis’ spine and over his shoulders, around his ribs, down his sides and up again. Down and up and over. His hands at the skin over Ignis’ hip bones made Ignis jolt, his breath a gasp. Testing, Gladio pressed lightly there again and, this time, was rewarded with a soft groan. His hands changed direction, rubbing and stroking in little circles over the sensitive skin. The hips under his started to shift against the bed, seeking out a lazy friction. He smiled into the darkening room. It was exactly what he wanted to happen.

“That’s it. You like that huh?” Gladio said, knowing Ignis couldn’t hear him. “That feel good? You want some more?”  
As if on cue Ignis groaned again, bending his knee so he could achieve more control over his rolling hips. “ _Gladio_ , he breathed.”  
“Ignis,” his lover replied, pressing a kiss between slick shoulder blades, letting his lips mouth the word against Ignis skin.  
“I’m here,” he confirmed, pressing his hand to Ignis’ back in a way they’d worked out at the start, a placement that had also become Gladio’s signature. _I’m here. I’m right here. You’re not alone._ In the early days Ignis had found it soothing. On his bad days he still did.

Gladio could feel himself growing hard but he made no further move until Ignis spoke again. “I wish to… I want you.”

Gladio’s kisses were easily won and generous over hot skin. Desire or a fever he wasn’t sure but he wasn’t about to deny his lover. He coaxed Ignis to lift his hips and slipped his shorts off. With a gentle tap on Ignis lower back, _I’ll just be a moment,_ he took a second to disrobe himself and grab the lube. _I’m back,_ he tapped Ignis arm. It was a code they’d worked out for public places where talking might be risky or inopportune but, in their current situation, it was a blessing.

Gladio lifted the headphones away for long enough to say, “Lift up, baby. Gonna slip a pillow under you,” and pressed a kiss to damaged skin on his face. It had only been a few weeks since Ignis had let him touch it at all, mostly because it was raw. It had hurt. Gladio still went easy on it, keeping contact to brief kisses but it was important to him to show Ignis he wasn’t disgusted by it. It was easy to say he still found the other man beautiful but he needed to show it so there’d be no doubt.

Ignis did as he was asked and Gladio slid a thick pillow under Ignis hips, lifting and opening him out a little. He kissed Ignis’ cheek in reward. He never thought to work out a code for things like ‘you’re beautiful’ or ‘you’re amazing’ but he put that on his to do list as he squeezed lube into his fingers. His left hand went to Ignis’ flanks to hold him steady as his right stroked tender and teasing around his entrance, gently coaxing the tight ring of muscles there to relax. It took longer than usual, owing to Ignis’ general tension, but Gladio found joy in his tender ministrations and the moment where he felt Ignis’ give enough to slip a finger in was beautiful. “That’s the way, that’s my Iggy,” he praised. Sometimes Iggy groused when he talked too much during sex but, freed of that consideration, Gladio became quite verbose.  
“Hmm, you feel so good, opening up for me. That’s perfect.”

Long fingers grabbed at the sheets, working them almost convulsively, as Gladio dug deeper. Ignis tried to shift his hips again but, this time, Gladio held him still. The irritated little moan Ignis gave up made Gladio chuckle. “I know, I know, but you’ll thank me later,” he said, steadily moving his finger in and out.  
“More!” Ignis demanded. “More fingers.”  
Gladio always knew he was doing well when Ignis’ speech was reduced to the bare essentials. Feeling that Ignis was easily taking the first finger he held two fingers against Ignis’ flank to warn him he was getting his wish. A moment later he moved his free hand to stroke up and down Ignis’ thigh as he pressed in a second finger carefully. 

He left it still a moment, waiting out Ignis’ heavy breathing. Only when his fiance relaxed again did he resume his movements.  
The third finger went in the same way, Gladio as always captivated by the feeling of Ignis opening for him. His long fingers reached in to rub at Ignis’ prostate for a brief moment before he withdrew altogether. He didn’t want Ignis to come too soon and he sure didn’t want to miss out on that tight heat. Slipping into his lover was one of the most precious things Gladio had left to experience. Almost everything was hard but a mere handful of treasured experiences.

Gladio moved slowly, savouring the achingly delicious stretch. He listened carefully to Ignis’ breathing and the licks of music he could hear around the padded phones. He placed a steadying hand on Ignis’ back and pulled back. The first push back in took him all the way to Ignis’ sweet spot. He scooped his hips to rub it with his tip before pulling back to the sound of Ignis’ hungry little cry.

“Oh that’s it huh? That what you want?”

Gladio snapped his hips in again, drawing another delicious cry. With the music and the muffled hearing drowning him out Ignis couldn’t be embarrassed by the sounds he was making. When his mouth opened raw, unedited, sound came out. Gladio drew out and snapped back in with careful precision, almost every pass pressing against Ignis’ most sensitive spot, the angle the cushion held him at making it easy to hit, as calculated. Noisy breathing filled the air punctuated by groans and gasping and _”fuck!”_ and _"please”_.

Gladio picked up his pace, fucking Ignis hard into the bed. He wanted those open sounds, he knew the effect they were having, unwinding Ignis’ torso and giving his anxious mind a rest. By the time he could feel his own orgasm approaching Ignis was screaming.

Gladio had never heard those sounds coming out of his partner and he wished he’d thought to record it because it was _amazing._ As much as he coaxed Ignis to let go he couldn’t really let it all out. He had to hold something back. He’d never thought of covering Ignis’ ears for _play._ It had seemed cruel. Now it seemed it was a saving grace.

“Gods Iggy, my Iggy, _beautiful_ Iggy!”

He only took Ignis’ cock in his hand at the last minute because he knew a touch was all that was needed to have Ignis spilling and _screaming_ under him. Gladio’s own orgasm was an afterthought, his real pleasure already returned to him in spades. His body, wrung out, fell partly across Ignis, full of heavy breath but his words were all loving as he slipped off his headphones. 

He crawled to Ignis side, pulled him close as Ignis burrowed into him, a goofy smile on his face! “Aww, my baby, you’re all blissed out yeah? Feel so good?”  
An emphatic, “Hmmmmmm,” was the only response he got, but the smile widened.  
Gladio peppered gentle kissed all over Ignis’ hair and face, stroked back his hair. “Gods you were good. You were so good. Amazing, Ignis. You’re amazing.”

“Gladio,” he whispered, kissing and nuzzling and almost humming from pleasure. His hips still shifted on the bed in aftershocks.  
“Mine.”  
“Damn right I’m yours,” he said, letting his other concerns, too, fall away for a little while as he held Ignis tight to him.  
“Soon… again?” Ignis said, a sly smile on his face, still a little unfocused.  
“You bet your arse,” Gladio grinned back. He watched Ignis shift on the bed, alive, his fear forgotten. It may not last the whole night but it was a promising start.


End file.
